I went to the site office last week, nothing really there as of yet that we have not seen on this thread, but i did give them an earful of what i think about the development of the line. Such as recommending that the line should open with 8 stations, and those two extra stations should be at Cameron and beside Coquitlam Center, not in Poco (there is no need for poco to have 3 stations) etc...

The Tri-City News Despite announcements, still lots of Evergreen work to do
By Diane Strandberg - The Tri-City News

Published: March 19, 2009 2:00 PM
Updated: March 19, 2009 2:33 PM

The money is (almost) in the bank but there are more questions than answers on the long-awaited Evergreen Line to Coquitlam.

In fact, you could say the silence is deafening, with provincial Ministry of Transportation officials saying little more than the project is moving ahead with a 2014 completion date.

But behind the scenes, it's likely officials are busily trying to answer some of the questions that have dogged the project from the get go.

Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart has spoken with Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon and is as up-to-date as anyone on the project. But even he says there are a lot of things that needed to sorted out.

"What's going on? A whole bunch of engineering... We know where it's going but every single element must be designed structurally. Land must be acquired and a whole bunch of planning for a really deep tunnel," Stewart said, acknowledging that at least a year of planning work lies ahead.

Two weeks ago, a project office was opened at the Coquitlam Transit centre, staffed by communications specialists from Kirk and Co. Consulting, which has Gateway and TransLink on its client list.

But other than a press conference, little else has emanated from that office.

Some of the remaining questions include:

• How will the tunnel under North Road be built?

• What does CP Rail say about the rapid transit route along its rail corridor?

• How will the project be staged with the Murray Clarke connector in Port Moody, where the connector is expected to cross over the rapid transit line?

• How will residents and businesses will be affected?

• Who will build the project?

• How will a $173-million funding gap be filled with private sector equity?

One of the biggest issues remains funding because even though Falcon has made assurances that the $173 million gap will be filled, one of the other biggest contributors, TransLink, is facing insolvency unless it can push through a seven-point plan to generate revenue.

The public will soon get to weigh in on the plan to raise revenue through a new car levy, a tax on cargo containers, higher transit fares or hikes to fuel taxes, parking lot taxes and property taxes, and a share of the provincial property transfer tax.

But it will be up to the region's mayors to approve it despite its political unpalatability. According to Mayor Stewart, TransLink has never been on a solid financial footing and something drastic needs to be done to preserve the region's transportation authority.

"It's finally being addressed," he said. "I am working hard with the others mayors to see that it is addressed because TransLInk delivers a massive service."

The shiny, new project office notwithstanding, Evergreen, too, is in doubt unless TransLink can find new revenues and muster up its $400 million share.

NDP leader Carole James is promising to get the $1.4-billion Evergreen Line back on track if her party wins next month's election.

She said an NDP government would totally fund the project rather than seeking a private partner, as Premier Gordon Campbell is doing.

"We should be able to see the Evergreen transit line, it should be nearing completion and it should be going into full operation this year," said James, standing in a shopping mall parking lot on the border of Port Moody and Burquitlam, site of a proposed transit station. "For local mayors and councillors, the Evergreen Line was the highest transit priority in Metro Vancouver."

James said that while Campbell promised to respect local transportation decisions, he's broken promise after promise to build the Evergreen Line.

"Because of Gordon Campbell the Evergreen Line is five years behind schedule and $600-million over budget," added James. "In fact, the price tag has almost doubled from $800 million to $1.4 billion."

The original plan called for a light rail system and the current plan is for a more expensive SkyTrain system.

"Gordon Campbell now says the construction is going to start in 2010 but we don't expect that promise will be kept either," said James.

She said under the Liberal plan, there's a shortfall of $173 million, and Campbell is saying, "Don't worry, that amount will be picked up by a private partner."

But, due to the current economic climate, private funding is hard to come by, she said.

"The NDP will end the waiting and end the uncertainty," she said. "We're going to close the funding gap, we're going to build the Evergreen Line and we're going to build it as a public project.

"Unlike Gordon Campbell, we're not going to impose further delays waiting for a private partner who may never materialize in today's financial market."

She said the NDP has put $180 million in its platform budget to make up the shortfall.

Restaurant owner Fred Soofi said he was pleased at the announcement but said he hoped it was not just an empty election promise.

"We have been hearing this for many years" he said.

"They promise for the election and after the election they forget and just bring their different reasons why they haven't done it."

He said that traffic on Clarke Road is gridlocked in the evening rush hour and the new line would help ease it.

"We've been waiting around a long time for it, right," said Dawn Rein, manager of Codfather's fish-and-chip shop. "We hope it happens. We're looking forward to it giving a little kick to the community."

As well as bringing economic benefits, she said, she's worried that it may bring in undesirables and lead to more crime.

No her stance is that if the line was originally built in the first place, it would've only cost $800 mil. They fully understand it'll cost $1.4 billion dollars now and will fully fund that amount to get Skytrain to Coquitlam like originally intended back in the late 90s.

I don't like Carole any more than you guys but read the article carefully. Twisting people's words and spreading misinformation sucks whether you're an NDP or Liberal supporter.

The M-Line aka the road to nowhere? I live near it now, but as the 2nd major link, it's a complete joke geographically.

If the NDP are so budget conscious, why didn't they let Steve Wynn build us a free convention centre?

I used to have to take a bus along Lougheed before the M-line. It sucked. Before the M-Line, there was really only one viable choice to get downtown from the tri-cities: drive. I've never lived in the Tri-cities, but I wouldn't say it goes nowhere, it's just only half-built.

Where the NDP made the mistake is they should've committed and signed contracts for extensions, like the Liberals have done with the Port Mann.

Smart move, next gov't can't really kill it and so they're forced to finish it, without getting any of the credit.

We'd have a seamless SkyTrain from Coquitlam to Granville St. by now if that were done.

The M-Line aka the road to nowhere? I live near it now, but as the 2nd major link, it's a complete joke geographically.

If the NDP are so budget conscious, why didn't they let Steve Wynn build us a free convention centre?

Well, in all fairness the Millennium Line under NDP plans were to include the Evergreen and Broadway extensions as phase II...for a 2006 completion. So really, all those complaints back then about the M-Line with its lower than expected ridership was because the line was only half built.

I couldn't agree more with the last part, though I believe it was the City of Vancouver that didn't let Wynn build his casino-resort-convention centre.

I think this project could have an early contruction start if it was done in two phases. The first phase just to the Burquitlam Plaza Station, then the last phase building the tunnel and remaining part of the line. The designs for Lougheed Station's Coquitlam Centre platform, and the criss-crossing guideway onto North Road have already been completed, just needing to be dusted off. One would think that the environmental review for this section would be simple, as there are no streams to cross over. By getting the Burquitlam section done early, the 97 B-Line bus route could be shortened up, avoiding the rush-hour gridlocked area around Lougheed Mall.